Impact of a Basic Income program on Canadian seniors' health and mental health

INTRODUCTION: Basic Income is income unconditionally granted individually to persons without means testing. In Canada, persons 65 years and older receive Old Age Security, which is taxable, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which is not.  For the poorest seniors, the maximum amount received through both sources is $15,600 CAD per year.  The objective of this study is to determine the impact on self-reported health and mental health of persons who become age-eligible for this Basic Income program.

METHODS:  We used the 2009–2010 Canadian Community Health Survey, which cross-sectionally collects health and socio-demographic data from a large representative sample of the Canadian population. We examined unmarried respondents with income $20,000 or less stratified by age (55-64 years; not Basic Income eligible and 65–74 years; Basic Income eligible). Probit models for poor health and poor mental health as outcomes were created considering sex, year-by-year age, income, and income source.

RESULTS: Turning 65 changes the main personal income source for low-income Canadians to Basic Income. We found no direct effect of income on health outcomes for this low-income group but we did find that changing income source to Basic Income reduced the probability of poor health by 0.15 and the probability of poor mental health by 0.085.

CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the receipt of Basic Income after age 65 improves the health and mental health of low-income Canadians. Government policy to raise the entitlement age for Basic Income to 67 will compromise the health and mental health of vulnerable seniors.